Chapter 7
Scene Nine opens with Blanche hunched in a striped chair, drinking from a bottle while the “Varsouviana” polka plays in her mind. Mitch arrives in blue work clothes, unshaven, and rings the door. Blanche, startled, hides the bottle, dabs her face with cologne, and rushes to let him in. She greets him sarcastically, comments on his lack of shaving, and forgives him for “stopping the polka tune” in her head. Mitch asks to turn off the electric fan; Blanche obliges, and the fan stops. Mitch sits on the bed, lights a cigarette, and refuses Stanley’s liquor, insisting it is not his. Their conversation drifts to Blanche’s mother and the recurring polka, which she identifies as “Varsouviana” associated with Allan’s suicide. Blanche pretends to search the closet for Southern Comfort, mock‑argues about who owns the liquor, and offers Mitch a drink, which he declines. They argue about light; Mitch tears a paper lantern from the bulb, exposing Blanche, who gasps and pleads not to be seen in the light. Mitch insists on seeing her plainly; Blanche declares she wants “magic” not realism. Mitch turns the light on briefly, then off, and bitterly denounces Blanche’s “old‑fashioned ideals” and her deception about being “straight.” He mentions hearing accusations from a “merchant Kiefaber” and others. Blanche confesses to multiple intimacies after Allan’s death, mentions staying at “The Tarantula Arms,” and reveals a past of sexual encounters, culminating in a desperate monologue about being morally unfit. A blind Mexican woman appears at the door selling funeral flowers (“flores para los muertos”). Blanche rebuffs her, then engages in a fragmented dialogue mixing death, desire, and memories of soldiers and the “Belle Reve” camp. The Mexican woman recedes as the polka fades. Mitch approaches to embrace Blanche; she asks “What do you want?” and he says he has been missing her all summer. Blanche proposes marriage; Mitch refuses, saying she isn’t clean enough for his mother. She threatens to scream “fire” if he stays. Mitch remains silent, then flees the apartment. Blanche rushes to a window, cries “Fire! Fire! Fire!” The polka music dies, and the scene ends with Blanche collapsing to her knees as Mitch exits, foreshadowing her later phone call collapse and hospital demand.